Raphael and Leonardo have been captured by Karai. While they await rescue, Karai takes something of Leonardo's that can never be returned. Mix of 2k3 and 2k12. Read the warnings before continuing. Rated M for a reason.

Raph woke up to a small noise from the dojo. He blinked in the darkness in his room and sighed. It had been a while since the last time and he had seriously thought maybe Leo wouldn't do it anymore. But Raph knew better than to hope for such an easy fix. He knew how demons worked. They would lie in wait, until you thought everything was behind you, that everything was just a distant memory that might have happened in another life, before springing back on you, teeth ripping everything to bloody shreds.

Raph rolled out of bed and stumbled to the door. As he made his way to the dojo, his movements became more alert and he was on his last yawn as he slid open the door to the dojo.

As expected, Leo was trying to beat the stuffing out of the punching bag. Leo kept punching, but shifted his body until Raph was in his peripheral vision.

Raph walked over and held the bag for Leo. The change was slight, but Leo's eyes brightened just a tiny bit.

Left hook. Right jab.

"Which one was it?" Raph asked.

Left cross. Left uppercut.

"She started with you." Leo said between panted breaths.

Oh boy, this wasn't one of the better ones.

Right cross. Left cross. Right jab.

"She promised she'd leave you alone if I let her."

Right cross. Left hook. Right hook. Left. Right. Left.

"So I agreed." Leo plowed himself against the punching bag and chuckled humorlessly. "Why, Raph?" Leo kept his forehead against the bag and looked up at Raph. "Why doesn't it feel like it's getting any better?"

"These things take time." Raph said. "You're getting better."

Leo exhaled and stood up. "All of you keep saying the same thing."

"Cuz it's true." Raph shrugged. "You keep expecting too much."

"What about you, Raph?" Leo asked, an edge creeping in his voice. "You're fine now. I should be too."

The walk to Leo's room was silent. Both of them had come to the unspoken agreement that they'd keep these midnight adventures to themselves. They hadn't wanted to keep out their family, but it felt right to keep this between them. During the day, everything else had seemingly clicked back into place, a new normal, save for the odd freak-out. Leo was some sort of Space Hero wanna-be dork and Raph, as always, was awesomely cool.

But in the dead of night, when the lights went out and there was only the soft hum of machinery and the slow drip of water to keep them company, sometimes things felt too much. Like they were the only ones in the world and it helped to hang onto each other.

/-/-/-/

AN: Done. Finally, I hate dragging things out and it's been feeling like I have. Thank you for sticking through! And hopefully, you've found this story enjoyable. Or disturbing. Either way. On another note, I am thinking of doing a sequel, due to the wonderful reviews all of you have left. I get the feeling you guys would like more? Annnnddd… Karai isn't done with Leo yet. :]

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.